Derailed Plans

“They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

Genesis 37:18-21

Joseph was in serious trouble. His brothers plan seemed full-proof so what chance did he have? But we know what happened. Joseph was sold into slavery instead of being killed. What happened there exactly? First of all we know that the devil was behind the plan. He comes only to seek, kill and destroy so I believe in was him pulling the strings. He wanted to take Joseph out. Now that’s out of the way, let answer the real question.

Why wasn’t Joseph killed?

Did the devil change his mind and think slavery was better than death? Because if he wanted to stop Joseph then death would have been better.

But I believe something else happened, Someone interfered in his plans – God! I believe the enemy was trying with all his power to kill Joseph. He hadn’t taken his foot off the pedal. In fact I think he pushed the pedal down harder to make sure.

But the truth was undeniable in that situation, God’s plans for Joseph’s life were stronger than the devil’s plans for Joseph. Nothing could change that. And you need to always remember that. Even though the enemy has plans for you, remember that God’s plans for your life are stronger and more powerful than the enemy’s plans for you. His plans will not succeed over you. God will derail them every time.

I think of Paul as well. There were 40 high powered officials that had conspired against him. It seemed like Paul was done for but once again God stepped in and derailed the enemy’s plan to destroy Paul. (Read the story in Acts 23:12-23)

Throughout scripture we see this truth played out again and again. So as I come to the end of this post I want to encourage you and remind you that God’s plans for your life are so much stronger than the enemy’s plans for you. The enemy’s plans will be thwarted and no weapon forged against you will prosper.

Bless you friends!

Rolain

There is hope in our darkest seasons

“When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭27:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

The captain refused to listen to Paul and because of that they were caught in a hurricane. There was nothing anyone could do. And after many days the word says ALL hope of being saved was gone.

You may be in a hopeless situation right now but there is good news. You might be out of options and all your efforts have come to nothing but there is good news for you.

When hope was lost the Lord stepped in. When death was sure the Lord sent an angel with hope. Even though there was no physical evidence of a turn around the Lord told Paul all the men on the boat would be saved!

 

“Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭27:23-24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

In our darkest seasons there will always be hope because God loves us and cares for us. Don’t abandon hope. The Lord will step in and save you. He will turn your darkest season around for good. Keep looking to and trusting Him.

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

Plans gone wrong!

“Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “Hushai’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s.” For the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom!”

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭17:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 

Ahitophel’s advice could have ended David’s life if it was followed but God stepped in and delivered him by frustrating Ahitophel’s counsel and plan.

The enemy is always planning against you but his plans will come to nothing. They will not come to fruition because the Lord is protecting you. Like He did for David the Lord is stepping in and frustrating the enemy’s plans.

Remember Haman who had plans to eliminate the Jewish people. (Read the book of Esther)

It seemed like his plans were rock solid but God stepped in again and frustrated them.

“Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.” “Then impale Haman on it!” the king ordered. So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.”

‭‭Esther‬ ‭7:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 

The truth is this: No weapon formed against you will prosper.

Don’t be afraid of the plans the enemy has against you and the weapons he creates to take you out because the Lord will guard you and make sure you are safe. The only plans that are coming to reality are the ones the Lord has made.

I pray and declare that all His good plans over your life come to pass. There is no plan that the enemy has created that is strong enough to succeed over you.

So don’t lose heart. The Lord will be your Shield wherever you go!

Bless you friends!

 

Rolain

A faith that cannot be destroyed…..

“So we will never fear even if every structure of support were to crumble away. 

We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes, 

moving mountains and casting them into the sea. 

For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves cannot erode our faith 

in You.”    Pause in His presence.

Psalm 46:2, 3

This scripture spoke to me today.

I was thinking about the difficult things we face in this life

and wondered if the storms we face are eroding our faith in God or strengthening it?

Is the constant onslaught of the enemy slowly eating away at your faith?

We must be careful when this begins to happen.

The more intense the fire gets the more we rely, and lean on Him. We need to beware

our faith is not diminishing as the onslaught continues because that’s the enemies goal.

He wants to decimate our faith, decimate us. he wants us hopeless, he wants us in fear, he wants us

paralyzed.

Let’s take a look at the definition of the word erode.

Erode definition

1: to diminish or destroy by degrees:

a: to eat into or away by slow destruction of substance (as by acid, infection, or cancer)

b: to wear away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice flooding eroded the hillside

c: to cause to deteriorate or disappear as if by eating or wearing away inflation eroding buying power

 

The eating away of your faith doesn’t happen suddenly. It happens in degrees. It’s barely visible and

before you know it your faith is wrecked.

We need God’s help against this attack. The Lord is by our side always and no matter how many attacks

the enemy launches he will not succeed. Don’t lose heart in the fire. Don’t give up in the fiery storm.

He will save you every time! Keep hope alive.

And this is the thing, your faith may be as small as a mustard seed but that’s enough for the Lord

to work with.

Things WILL get better, the storm will pass. Hold on to your faith.

No matter how intense the storm gets ask Him to give you strength to keep holding on.

Bless you friends….

 

Rolain

 

God’s purpose for you under attack……

 

We have an amazing purpose to live out that is given to us directly by YAH.

The thing is, the enemy is trying to do all he can to stop us.

As we pursue the dreams Yeshua has put in our hearts we must depend on

Him with our everything.

You may be discouraged and feeling overwhelmed because of the attacks but

take heart because the Lord is with you. Let me share a story with you that illustrates this

truth perfectly;

 

“And [that same] following night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, 

Take courage, Paul, for as you have borne faithful witness concerning Me at Jerusalem, 

so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

Acts 23:10

 

In this verse Yeshua promised Paul he would go to Rome and bear witness of Him.

But in the next verse we read something interesting,

 

“Now when daylight came, the Jews formed a plot and bound themselves by an oath and 

under a curse neither to eat nor drink till they had done away with Paul. 

There were more than forty [men of them], who formed this conspiracy [swearing together this 

oath and curse]. 

Acts 23;11-15

 

Wow right?! Hours after the Lord spoke to Paul the enemy launched an attack against him!

In the natural Paul had no chance against this attack. There were forty Jews who were in on this

including the chief priests and elders.

But we need to look at what was really happening here.

The enemy thought he could stop the Lord’s purpose for Paul. he is so deceived that he thinks he

can stop YAH.

The Lord had promised Paul he would bear witness in Rome. Nothing would and could stop that

from happening. No matter the weapons the enemy used, they would all fail.

But the enemy thought he could challenge that!

 

The enemy’s plans for you will not succeed. Hold on to that truth with all you got.

The truth is this, he is a defeated foe and no plan against you can prosper because the Lord

is with you.

No matter the scheme, no matter the plan, no matter the weapon, they will all fail because the Lord

is protecting you and guiding you on your journey. His plan for your life will come to pass and that

is why I said you need to trust Him with everything you got. The enemy will try to deceive you into

believing he is winning but it’s a lie.

Trust the Lord’s leading, trust He is protecting you, trust He is in total control.

The journey we are on is long and there is plenty opportunity to get discouraged. But even when we

fall we must always remember that the Lord is with us. He is protecting us and directing our every step.

As I end this post I want you to see how powerful the Lord is. Look at the way he thwarted the enemy’s

attack;

 

‘Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.”

Acts 23:16

 

The Lord used a young man! That’s all He needed. He didn’t break a sweat stopping the enemy’s plan.

The Lord has defeated the enemy and will continue doing so on our behalf with ease!

Don’t be discouraged. Keep trusting, keep praying…..

He will accomplish what He promised you.

Bless you friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The war we find ourselves in……

“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest

of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Revelation 12:17

 

As I read this scripture a few days ago certain things began to make sense.

The hardships I face when I try to live for YAH, the difficult times,

the distractions that get in the way EVERY TIME I decide to spend time with Him,

the sin that so easily begets me,

it’s all part of the enemies plan to derail me….us.

The shame, the disappointments, the condemnation, the unforgiveness that you carry is all

part of the arsenal he uses.

 

The enemy has declared war on us.

His plan is to kill, steal, and destroy and that doesn’t only mean physically.

He wants to destroy any hope that we have, he wants to destroy the dreams YAH has placed

in our hearts.

He wants to destroy everything good in our lives.

He doesn’t want to see us happy, prospering, winning, and at peace.

 

I am reminded of Lazarus when he was raised from the dead. That was a joyous time for him

and his sisters. He died and was now alive! What a miracle, what a moment!

And yet…..there were still people who were angry that Yeshua raised him from the dead!!!!

It dumbfounds me totally!!

 

“Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did,

believed in Him.

But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do?

For this Man works many signs. “

John 11:45-47

 

The Pharisees were supposed to be rejoicing and praising YAH for the miracle they had just

witnessed and heard about but that didn’t happen. That is an accurate picture of how the enemy

thinks about us.

The enemy doesn’t want anything good happening to us.

 

THE GOOD NEWS

I don’t know if he understands this but no matter how much he wants us to fail, and see

us destroyed it’s not his call!!

He is a defeated foe and doesn’t have any say in the matter.

Yeshua paid for us when He sacrificed Himself on the cross.

The enemy has declared war on us but he will not win. We belong to Yeshua now.

The enemy has no say about what happens in our lives.

Bad things happen because we live in a broken world but Yeshua will carry us

through all the trials we face.

 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. “

Psalms 34:19

 

We will fall down for sure but the enemy will not keep us down, he is not strong enough to keep us down.

The Lord will keep picking us up and there is nothing he can do about that.

 

“For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.”

Proverbs 24:16

 

The most elaborate thought out plan of the enemy will always be stifled by YAH. It will not

succeed against you.

 

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in

judgement You shall condemn.”

Isaiah 54:17

 

We need to trust Yeshua every step of the way.

When we fall we need to confess our sins.

When we are weak we must call out to Him for help.

He is the One who will keep us.

In our own strength we don’t stand a chance against the enemy but only as

we look to the Lord do we have a chance.

The enemy has declared war on us, yes,  but he has been defeated.

Yeshua is with us protecting us against the enemy!

That is really good news!

 

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

Something to remember when you are going through stuff…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed,

for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous hand.

Isaiah 41:10

 

Life can be so hard at times. In the midst of the trials we face we can forget

we are not alone.

In hard times we can so easily get into a thing of dealing with situations

on our own.

But YAH is with us every step of the way. We are not walking in the fire alone!

We need to remember He is with us always!

The enemy wants us to believe we are alone. He wants us to believe that YAH

doesn’t care but it’s all a lie.

We are not alone! Let’s take a look at a two scriptures,

 

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them;

for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you.

He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

 

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,

And delivers them out of all their troubles.”

Psalm 34:17

 

Whatever you are facing right now call to Him.

You don’t have to face the storm alone because you

are not alone!

Amen

 

Bless you friends…..

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

Because He loves us, He commands…..!

I was thinking about God’s commands today.

Did you know God commands us to follow His commands?

(If you love me keep my commandments. John 14:15)

 

He doesn’t suggest we forgive someone who wrongs us,

He commands us to forgive.

(Bear with each other and forgive one another if any

of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the

Lord forgave you. 

Colossians 3:13)

 

He doesn’t suggest we live pure lives, He commands us

to be pure.

(As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires

you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who

called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:

‘Be holy, because I am holy.  1 Peter 1:14-16)

 

He doesn’t suggest us to praise Him, no, He commands us to

praise Him.

(The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My

praise.  Isaiah 43:21)

 

I could go on and on but you get the picture. There is so much

God has commanded us to do.

But that word, “command” isn’t a word we like too much.

It’s so abrupt, so definite so final!

When we hear the word command walls come up. A lot of people

have commanded us before and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

So when we hear, God commands, the defenses are raised

instantaneously.

 

But I want to show you what God showed me about His commands.

When God commands, it’s not because He is drunk on power and

wants us to feel His awesomeness!

He doesn’t command for the sake of making life hard for us like

others have done.

He is God and not man.

When God commands, He has our well being in mind.

 

Let me show what I mean.

This is a command. When you see the sign you know exactly

what it means.

This is not a suggestion. They are commanding you to keep

out because they know the danger it will cause to you.

That sign was made with you in mind. It’s a way of protecting you.

And when you see it you don’t complain because you know it’s to

keep you safe.

 

When a parent commands their child not to talk to strangers

it’s not because they love making things hard for their child,

but it’s to protect them.

It’s out of love they command their child!

 

And that is how we need to look at God’s commands.

He has you and me in mind when He commands. It’s because

He loves us, that He commands us.

 

We need to stop fighting His commands.

 

I was fighting one this week. I had an argument with someone

and instead of forgiving them

I brought up reasons why I shouldn’t. I tried to justify myself but

that’s not what God commands.

He commands us to forgive as He has forgiven us. It’s not because

He enjoys seeing me in pain but

because He wants to see me grow and move to another level in my

walk with Him.

 

Are you obeying His commands?

Do you try to run away from the things He has commanded you?

We have an opportunity to do the right thing.

His commands are for our benefit.

He commands because He loves us deeply.

 

Bless you friends

 

Rolain

 

 

What God’s goodness has to do with the Sun and a Shield……..!

I am currently doing a bible study on discovering the will of God. The book I am using is really something. It is unique in the way it tackles questions about God’s will. I started about a month ago and I have learned so much already. I came across a question that I have been meditating on for quite some time now. And it is this question and portion of the study I would like to share with you. I am sure it will be a blessing to someone.

What I will do is write down the questions and the answers I put down. The scripture used is really amazing. Here goes….

Psalm 84:11 is an outstanding verse on how good God is. Meditate on the verse, then answer the following questions.

(I used the Amplified Bible to answer this question.)

For The Lord God is a Sun and Shield; The Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and 

[future] glory (honour, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from

Those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11 (Amplified) 

– What two things is God like? What does each of these do for us? 

My answer – He is like the Sun and a Shield. 

The Sun brings light. It also brings life! 

A shield protects us. 

The Lord is a Sun…..

As He is the Sun the darkness in my life can do nothing but flee. Darkness cannot reside in the light. The Sun comes to shine in the dark places within me. It comes to give those dead things in me life…..! 

As a Shield He protects me from ALL the weapons the enemy fashions against me. No weapon can hurt me or destroy me. He is my Shield! 

– What does God do? 

My answer – He bestows [present] grace and [future] glory (honour, splendor and heavenly bliss)!

– What does He not do? 

He does NOT withhold any good thing from me! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 

and a Shield!!!!

– How do these truths help you? 

Firstly these truths encourage me. They give me hope. They strengthen me. They give me confidence to face the challenges on my path. 

They give me boldness as I go to Him. 

And that is it. As you read the questions take time to meditate on them. Use whichever version is easy for you. The Amplified gave a deeper meaning for me. The truths you find will give you the hope you need. He is our Sun and Shield!!!

Rolain.